


Sunset

by orphan_account



Series: BB/Rae Week 2015 [5]
Category: Teen Titans (Animated Series)
Genre: Ereri Week 2015, F/M, Fluff, GROUP HUGS!, very brief mention of suicide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-29
Updated: 2016-02-29
Packaged: 2018-05-23 23:05:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6133252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>BB/Rae week 2015: Day 5<br/>Sunset</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sunset

**Author's Note:**

> This one is a bit angstier than the others, and has a mention of suicide, just to warn ya'll.

Raven slowly slid the door to the roof open, a soft breeze ruffling her hair as she did.  
It wasn't unusual rowdy in the tower today, but she still felt the need to come up her, to get some fresh air while meditating.

As dark and depressing as her room sometimes made her look, Raven did enjoy her own share of sunshine and outdoor experience from time to time.  
Just not too often or for too long at a time.

But she immediately sensed she was not alone this time. Apparently Beast Boy had also felt the need to come outside, and he was standing straight across from her, on the edge of the balustrade, his back turned to her.

Raven idly wondered what he was doing there, he hadn't been in the common room, where Robin was beating Cyborg (for a change) at some random fighting game and Starfire was cheering them on overexcited as usual, the empath had simply assumed he was in his room, getting up to no good, as always.

She had opened the door without making any noise, so he hadn't noticed her arrival yet, even with his better than average hearing, and the girl had a moment to observe her teammate.  
Beast Boy looked quiet contemplative as he stood their, the same soft breeze that had just assaulted Raven gently blowing through his short hair, and a beautifully setting sun illuminating the scene in a gold-red glow.

It was nearing the end of October now, and it was slightly colder than Raven had expected. Maybe she had better go back inside and do her meditating somewhere else.  
Just as this thought crossed her mind, the changeling before her suddenly tensed, and she half-expected him to notice her and start a conversation.

Instead, he jumped off.

Raven felt like her heart had just stopped beating. It felt worse than the time she faced her father in her own mind, worse than when she realized she had indeed let Terra fool her, even worse than the moment she found out Malchior had been lying to her all along.  
It was a good thing the roof was a pretty bare place, or anything in the vicinity would have been obliterated on the spot.

She ran over to the edge, frantically trying to keep her powers from escalating, having half a mind to jump after her comrade. Instead, a green hawk almost hit her straight in the face as it was using the air currents to gain height. It circled the roof, again losing altitude as it prepared to land again, now that it had seen her.

Raven felt like banging her head against a wall. Stupid, of course Beast Boy isn't suicidal, what the hell were you even thinking? How could you possibly forget he could fly?

She was still internally berating myself when the hawk was low enough to change back in a human, landing gracefully on his feet.  
Beast Boy was grinning wildly, oblivious to the panic he had just caused her. He could still see it on her face though, as she had not yet managed to make her expression completely neutral again.

Had she been the kind to resort to physical violence, she might have smacked that smile of his face than and there, but she didn't need to.  
It faded on it's own as he gave her a concerned look.

"Hey Rae, what's wrong?" The boy sounded genially confused.

"It's nothing." she answered, relieved to hear her usual monotone had crept back in her voice. "Just don't do that again..."

Beast Boy cast his mind back to some minutes before. Apparently he was having a hard time figuring out what it was exactly what he had done wrong.  
"Flying?" he questioned after a pause.

"Jumping of the roof like an idiot." It wasn't much use lying to him now, he had seen her little outburst already. Besides, over the past few weeks she had learned Beast Boy was more understanding than Raven often gave him credit for, so she might as well be civil.

"It's just to gather some momentum." He shrugged. "Sure beats using the roof itself as a take-off ground, it's too..." Just than it seemed to connect in his brain and his eyes grew wide, the grin returning in full force.

"You thought I was jumping 'off' off." The teen emphasized his meaning by quoting the air with his fingers.  
She threw him an angry look. "And you find that funny exactly why?"

"Because it shows you do care for us!" he seemed excited for some reason.

Raven just raised her eyebrows some more. "I do. You know this." though she could not completely stop the confusion seeping in her voice. Where exactly was Beast boy going with this?

The changeling went over to the edge once more and stood on it again, walking the short length and balancing precariously on one leg. Raven had seen him do this before, a nervous habit he had developed god knows where. Whenever he become too excited, Beast boy was unable to stand still, often engaging in stupid acrobatics to keep his hands and feet busy.

"Of course I know. We all know." he went on, without missing a beat. "But you don't show it that often, so I'm happy when you do. I just want to make you happy." He was doing a handstand now, still grinning at her from an upside-down position.

Happy? Raven was glad her hood was up, to hide the faint blush on her cheeks. She knew the boy had some weird obsession with making her smile, thinking it a challenge. But when had it changed into making her happy. Maybe she wasn't the only one altered by their many close encounters over the past few weeks.

"I beat you I can do this with one hand." Beast boy called, pulling her from her silent reverie. He hadn't wait on an answer, and was already clenching the balustrade with one hand. Raven quickly crossed the distance and pulled lightly on his knee, making him land on his back at the right side of the drop.

"Very funny." she said sarcastically, before responding on his previous comment: "As long as you know, it doesn't matter if I show you. It's not that easy for me. You wouldn't understand."

"Try me?"  
Raven sat herself on the edge this time, sitting cross-legged like her meditation position. Beast boy quickly joined her, dangling his legs off the edge himself.

"From the moment I was old enough to remember, people have been telling me it is better to suppress my feelings. For myself, for the ones I love, for the entire world. My own mother was the one to tell me who I was and what I was capable of. And as a little girl, of course that was frightening."

She glanced over to him, and he seemed to be listening quiet intently, but had no comment to offer. For this she was thankful, if he had interrupted her now, Raven might not have the courage to continue.

"There used to be this time, back in Azarath, when I tried to rebel against it. I guess even I had this naive time where I thought I could alter my faith by sheer will alone. It was bad, seeing my power spiral out of control like that. Destroying, breaking, hurting. I don't want it to happen again.  
I rather be careful, even if it makes me seem cold-hearted."

"We don't think you're cold-hearted!" Beast boy quickly interrupted, and Raven could tell he was being sincere. "We do know, and we do understand. I just... I just sometimes wish you could try harder." He averted his gaze.

Raven felt a sudden surge of anger. What was that even supposed to mean? She got up in a fluid movement, taking some steps towards the door in fury.  
"I said you wouldn't understand! You would never know what it's like, to have your own mother look at you like you are a monster!"

The shout rang out in the cold air, immediately followed by a loud breaking sound. Raven was fairly certain she had just shattered some windows on the T-tower. She wanted to storm through the door and not look back, but his sudden voice had her glued to her spot.

"I do." he muttered. Raven almost hadn't heard it, but it froze her insides. Beast Boy rarely felt like talking about his time as Garfield Logan. She swallowed a lump that had suddenly formed in her throat.

"I do understand. After I got sick... After I got... cured. My parents were still there. They still loved me and they were relieved I wasn't dead. But it was not the same." The changeling had gotten up now as well, he was just behind her. She turned around to face him, seeing the hurt at the memories clearly reflected in his eyes.

"She knew I was still me. She was there when I changed. But in her eyes... I could see the doubt. Was it really her son she had brought back? Was it worth it, seeing what I'd become..."  
The boy had obvious trouble getting these words out his mouth and Raven felt like biting her tongue out for sparking this conversation in the first place.

Robin had had a long talk with all his teammates separately when he officially brought the Teen Titans into existence. Their past had of course also been a mandatory topic, but Raven herself knew everyone kept their explanations to the bare minimum.

It did no good talking about dead parents or lost dreams. In joining the Teen Titans, you leave the previous part of your life behind.

But talking about this could also bring a form of release, as the empath was sure they were sharing just now.

They stood their in silence for some time, feeling like no words were needed to express their new understanding. They did understand each other better than either thought. And Raven felt a need to apologize, but couldn't quiet bring herself to. She did not trust her voice to sound unbroken.

Beast Boy moved first, just one step, and he threw his hand around her, clasping her close to his body. Raven wasted no time in raising her arms herself, clasping her hand at his back and holding him tight. They were exactly the right hight to be cheek to cheek and find comfort in each others shoulder. She could feel his heat warm her body, and a couple of tears seeping into her cloak.

Her own eyes were suspiciously wet as well.

Raven wasn't sure how long they stood there. The sun had went down behind the buildings now, the sky was afire with a cacophony of red and purple, golden clouds drifting in their midst. The last light of the day reflecting on the sea stretching around the tower.

It had been a while since either of them had felt so secured and cared for. They didn't care if it lasted forever, just the 2 of them inside a sunset world.

But like all beautiful things, they fade away rather quickly.

The roof door opened suddenly, a lot less quietly than Raven's entrance had been. The 3 other Titans had evidently noticed the loudly shattering windows and gone in search of their missing teammates.

Seeing them both safe and sound (and in a rather intimate position to boot) made relief flood through them. Starfire immediately flew at them and wrapped them both in her arms as well.

"Friends, we are doing the ritual of showing affection through bodily contact, yes?"  
It was the Tamarenean's favorite earth ritual yet.

"Of course, Star." Beast Boy managed to wheeze, his trademark grin plastered on his face once more. The pressure kind of made him lose his breath.

"Group hug!" Cyborg suddenly shouted, joining Starfire in the embrace and making her giggle her approval. She proceeded to throw puppy eyes at Robin until also their leader caved under her adorable excitement and reluctantly joined.  
Raven had managed to get a mildly annoyed look on her face to suit the occasion, but inwardly she was smiling as well.

"Ok guys, I can't breath anymore." Beast boy finally managed to bring out. The team broke apart, a sort of excited buzzing in the atmosphere. The sun was setting on today, but there would be many more tomorrows for the 5 of them to enjoy.


End file.
